The Twins Story

Atelier

The slums were filled with all sorts of sounds that would cause anybody not used to them to feel like their head was about to explode. Smiths, Engineers and even mining operations are held all within the confines of the slums, a vast underground network sitting under the capital city of Draconia. The slums aren't even considered a part of the city and gain none of the benefits of the city, yet they have to pay the taxes demanded by the city. Which causes unrest by many new residents of the Slums.

"What do you mean we also have to pay the tax? What is the point of that? We wouldn't be allowed to participate in any of the festivals, go to any of the banquets or even get the weekly food supply that the city gets. So what's the reason for making us pay the taxes?" Misoka exclaims loudly. She wasn't happy about being told they would have to make the one-thousand Col monthly tax. Sure they were able to get a place for really cheap, but that price only lasts for the first year.

Mikaso jumps from his sisters sudden outburst. He looks over at her with a look of surprise on his face. It was hard to believe that Misoka knew any of that stuff. She never was much for reading books or looking into the different laws. In fact, she is actually the complete opposite from him when it comes to that kind of stuff. They share the same hair color, a mixed blue that is very unusual to find on humans. Neither of them have a remarkable body shape in any way except that Misoka is pretty short, just barely over five feet tall and Mikaso is well over six feet tall. Both are relatively slim, neither one having any real muscle or fat that people can really see.

Mikaso is more of a book worm that spends his time reading books and recording the effects of their experiments in synthesizing. Misoka on the other hand is a complete tomboy and other than the synthesizing process she has no real interest in the runnings of the shop. Which is why Mikaso was so surprised that she knew the tax rates and that it was pretty much just a fraud that the city ran to help the upper level flourish.

"It is only custom that we charge every person within the city limits the monthly fees. We can't just let all of you ingrates live here for free and take up space in our marvellous city." The woman that was in charge of showing the twins the way to their new residence turns around to leave. Having done her job and shown the twins to the small building she clearly didn't want to spend any more time in the slums surrounded by people who were supposedly below her.

Before Mikaso could stop her, Misoka pulled out a vial of a thick green goo from her satchel and pulled out the cork and threw it at the lady's back. The vial shattered on impact and the liquid immediately stained into her white and pink dress. Mikaso covers his nose right away knowing that the vial was full of neutralizer, which smells a lot like fresh fertilizer, just about thirty times stronger.

The woman turns around abruptly and storms over to the twins. "What did you just throw at me you little brat!?" She pulls her hand back and throws her hand full force to slap Misoka, but Mikaso steps in the way and the woman's hand hits him square in the chest.

"Is it really appropriate for a representative to go around slapping the civilians ma'am?" Mikaso stares down at the woman with his brow burrowed slightly, his blue eyes looking more icy than usual. "And if you ever try to hit my sister again, you will have Hell to pay for it." He gives her a broad smile before turning around grabbing his sisters hand and dragging her into their new shop.

The shop was a small one, but at the same time they didn't need to worry about finding a house since this building has a back room that is big enough to be used as their bedroom. It isn't anything special, but it is still more than they are used to. They never had a real building to call home, so they aren't very picky. Growing up on the streets after being abandoned by their parents at a young age, they are adept to not having anything other than the clothes on their backs and any small amounts of money they could receive for makeshift items they created.

Mikaso looks around the room and notices a single cot folded up in the corner. He walks over and starts to set it up and is surprised to find out that everything is there. He quickly finishes it and sets it up in the corner before walking around and starts to pick up the random sheets of paper that are scattered all around.

"Well at least we have a temporary bed and some fire starter." Misoka says as she walks up behind her brother. "They obviously don't care about the condition of the buildings in the slums though. I mean they could have cleaned this place up before renting it to somebody at least."

Mikaso aligns a stack of papers and sets them down on a small wooden table. "Actually, we might be lucky that they didn't throw all these papers away. Each one has a recipe on them, but they aren't the same as the foods and ointments we make. I think this place was once an Atelier."

Misoka stares at him with a confused look. "It might have been a what? What's an Atelier?"

Mikaso sighs and closes his eyes with obvious frustration on his face. "An Atelier is what an alchemists shop is called. You name your Atelier after yourself. You use your last name, It's like a stamp or signature to get your name out there. But more importantly, these recipes vary quite a bit and some seem way to complex for us, so I expect the alchemist that owned this Atelier must have been a real pro." He looks closely at each sheet of paper, but can't find any type of signature.

They set to cleaning up the room that they will be using for a study and a bedroom. It takes them a couple of hours to finally finish cleaning it, and even with everything picked up and all the papers stacked neatly the room still seemed to be a complete mess. The floor and walls were an assortment of different colors, and obviously made from random spare pieces of metal that were most likely in scrap piles. The lighting system in their house was obviously either really old or also pieced together like the rest of the house.

After cleaning their room Misoka was tired and went to take a nap on the cot. Mikaso decided that while she was asleep he would take a trip to the merchant district in the slums and see if he could find a filing cabinet for cheap to store the sheets he found in. The rest of the buildings in the slums were pieced together just like his new house. Each one had a unique look to it, and no two buildings are shaped the same. Some are domes while others are rectangular or just squared. The doors ranged from him having to practically crawl to get through, to being so big he would have trouble to open and close them.

He finally enters the merchant district and is surprised to find out that the amount of chatter is actually loud enough to block out the sounds of the blacksmiths hammers and the explosions coming from the mines. He wanders around looking at the different stalls and is caught off guard by the amount of flora and other naturally grown materials some of the merchants are selling. He figured it must be difficult to grow anything in the slums.

"Ah, I can tell you are new here lad. It's the way you are looking at the plants some of these merchants have." Mikaso turns to see a tall slender man in white robes standing behind him.

"How do they grow different flora down here? All the smog and lack of open water should make it near impossible to grow just vines, much less actual flowers and vegetation." Mikaso point's at a purple flower laying on a merchants rug. "Purple Dragon lilies require an open sky with a minimum of 7 hours of sunlight a day, and they also grow right on the edge of lakes with the purest water. Down here both of those are impossible."

The man suddenly gets a big grin on his face and laughs, causing his pale white hair to shift and show a black eye patch covering his left eye. "I see you know a lot about plants. Are you a florists by any chance?"

"No sir, I have just done my research on different plants I use for creating items." Mikaso looks the guy up and down realizing he is actually in great shape. He is slim, but you can easily see the details in his muscles. The clothes he wears insist that he is a noble from the capital.

"So you are an alchemist then? That's a rare sight. I absolutely must see your Atelier." The mans face shows pure excitement. "My name is Larsith, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"My name is Mikaso. It's nice to meet you as well sir. I actually came here to find a filing cabinet, but I haven't had any luck so far." Mikaso looks at the wares of the merchants before turning back to Larsith. "I'll just come back another time and find one. Come on, I'll show you the way to my Atelier."